The Man Who Killed the First Monster

Jason used scan immediately after seeing the old man with pale brownish-yellow skin lying on top of the bed, and his eyes went bulging wide.

Jack Arrluk Igruk

Lv: 23 Job: Fisherman

EP:15/15, E.G:1920/1920

F.P: 254/10400

Str: 67, Agi: 15, Dex: 5, Sta: 65, En: 5, E.R: 16

Status Condition : Critical Injured, High Fever, Infested Wound.

Skill: Spirit Net, E.Guard, Fisherman’s Physique, Rod Bash, Cast & Reel.

“Fisherman?”

The job of this Jack Arrluk caught his interest but as his eyes went down the status screen, his pupils started shaking.

What kind of guard is that? Ten thousand? This is ridiculous.

Arrluk’s status shocked him to the core. It was the first time for him to saw someone else like him who had a job and the old man didn’t disappoint. For an old man, he focused on two attributes, strength and stamina and Jason could see why the grandfather did it.

So, stamina influenced Fisherman’s Physique? But the number is way too high that it looks ridiculous. Mine's only one-third of his Fisherman’s Physique and even his energy guard is strong. Even with a small amount of e.resist his energy guard is well more than half of mine. I can only suspect that his e.guard had gone through an upgrade. Damn, this old man is something else.

He gained a new perspective and for some reason, he felt he was losing. He thought he was at the peak considering even the army was well below him but boy he was wrong. If he was special then there were also other special people.

The lead he thought he had seemed small when seeing Arrluk’s status.

“Please help my grandpa,” said Tapeesa. She was staring at him with glistening eyes. She was probably going to cry in order to move the man that said he could help her. “You said you can help my grandpa.”

That last sentence brought Jason to glanced over the status once more. The heavily injured state was visible through the naked eye. Jason saw the whole right arm of Arrluk being bandaged from top to bottom. The dark color stains on the bandages showed the bleeding must have been still persisting.

Other parts of Arrluk’s body were also bruised with a few purplish swelling, but his right arm was the worse. Jason could even smell something rotten lingering around the arm. He tried not to scrunch his nose as it would be too rude of him.

Can I do this?

Jason cocked his head a bit, wondering whether his major heal was possible in curing something like a fever or an infection. But it seemed he had to try it out in order to find it.

“Like I said, it’s a mistake bringing him here. He can’t help grandpa,” said Nuniq. He was leaning on the door frame staring at the motionless Jason. Although he knew he was weak, he just couldn’t help but run loose with his mouth considering it involved his grandfather.

“Shut it Nuniq. You’re not being helpful,” said Tapeesa. She glared at her brother, and the brother glared back.

While the siblings were having a heated non-verbal argument, Jason walked closer to the close-eye Arrluk. He stared at the old man with shallow breathing. He took another scan, and he saw the physique point was dropping by one. It seemed the Fisherman’s Physique acted like a ticking death timer.

Hmm, I wish I can use Contract. If I rope in this old man as another vanguard, fighting against that orc would be a breeze. But damn, my EP is not enough. The trouble I made at those hordes really cost me this time.

Deep down, he was thinking about gaining benefit, and he saw this old man as an opportunity. Who knows whether the old man would help him or not even after being healed. A contract would definitely be the better choice.

Fuh… Fine, let’s stop being a scumbag for once, and let's at least be a civilized person. 

Jason made his choice. He placed his hand on top of the bandaged arm.

“Hey, what are you doing?” said Nuniq. He kept an eye on Jason even while glaring at his sister.

Tapeesa turned around and saw Jason was about to do something.

“Is this safe? You sure you aren’t going to hurt my grandfather?” asked Tapeesa. Her gaze was focused on the hand placed on top of her grandfather while her lips were pressing together.

Her rapid breathing was becoming louder by the second as Jason couldn’t help but glanced to the side a bit, seeing the anxious grandchild.

Jason didn’t want to say relax or something similar, considering he still wasn’t sure the extent of his Major Heal. Giving hope would be the biggest offense if he suddenly couldn’t heal Arrluk.

Let’s get this over with.

“Major Heal,” he said.

A green glow emerged and engulfed Arrluk whole. Both siblings stared at their grandfather while praying inside for a miracle. Nuniq, who stood afar, came closer until he finally stood beside Tapeesa. They waited with bated breath.

Jason, who was healing Arrluk, kept his eyes on Arrluk’s status screen. He saw the low number slowly going up. At least his heal was working, but his eyes couldn’t help but glanced at the fever and infected wound.

He used Major Heal another time as the points for Fisherman’s Physique was too high. Then he was done.

The green glow receded until nothing was left. The two siblings could definitely saw the difference in their grandfather’s face as the color of vibrant skin returned. Even his shallow breathing was gone as it was more stable.

“Grandpa,” Tapeesa called out to Arrluk as her hands were still in the air, afraid of moving even an inch of her grandparent’s body.

“Grandpa!” Nuniq shouted as the rough boy was tearing up with his mouth smiling upside down.

“Hmm,” a subtle moan came Arrluk.

The two siblings kept on calling to their grandfather, and this time Nuniq didn’t mind his hands as he shook his grandfather’s body.

The corner of Jason’s lips curved up a bit as he had verified from Arrluk’s status screen that his condition was now healthy. The old man was probably sleeping since he did been resting all of this time. Jason didn’t say a word and snuck away from the room, leaving behind those two siblings with their grandfather.

He went outside of the accommodation area of the freighter and walked upstairs to the bridge. It was peaceful here with the billowing breeze from the huge lake. It was far different from back in the city filled with orcs.

He looked around the bridge, and even with the lights off, he could see it as clear as day. He noticed a few bloodstains, and he assumed that the freighter must have been attacked at some point earlier during the invasion.

Those three downstairs might have something to do with this freighter free from monsters. But I have to hand it to them. They really pick a good place to live with all the monsters crawling around. Should I hijack this place?

While the answer to that last question was unknown, he kept walking around the bridge until nothing was of interest. He walked upstairs to the monkey island, the second-highest place beside the mainmast.

He stared at Oshawa City covered in the darkness with no presence of light.

I really should get back to the city. I just hope those dumb orcs were still searching for me rather than moving forward to the squad. Hmm?

From his backside, Jason heard the sounds of the metal stairs being stepped on. He didn’t turn around and waited. Soon, an old man, a head shorter than him, stood beside him. He wore his traditional Inuit garment protecting him from the cold.

The silence was brief between them as Arrluk spoke.

“I’ve heard from my grandchildren. I thank you to my savior,” said Arrluk as he stared at Jason with his glistening eyes.

Jason turned over, hoping to look cool but seeing the old man staring at him with eyes closed to tearing up made him retreated a few steps.

“Thank you, sir, thank you,” said Arrluk as the man suddenly broke down into tears. His knees grew weak as he knelt on the floor in front of Jason.

Oh shit, what’s going on? Isn’t this escalating a bit too quickly?

Jason was hoping to exchange a few pleasantries before probing some information, but the old man made an unexpected move. Breaking down crying was definitely unexpected.

“No, it’s fine, it’s fine, you can… hmm, get up now,” said Jason as he lightly patted the old man by the shoulder. Consoling a stranger was definitely not part of his job.

Arrluk calmed himself down as he stood back and wiped away the tears, snot, and whatever on his face.

“If it wasn’t for you sir, I-I-I-,” Arrluk stammered while Jason hoped that the old man didn’t break down a second a time.

“I wouldn’t have been able to see my grandch…” Arrluk couldn’t finish his words as he started crying again. It wasn’t as worse as before.

It took a bit of time, and finally. The two could finally have a conversation. They exchanged pleasantries for a while before Jason went down to the big fish.

“So a Fisher…”

BOOM!

A loud explosion rang in the air as Jason couldn’t finish his words.

“What is that?” asked Arrluk.

“A tank," said Jason with his eyes narrowed.